1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related in general to micromechanical flying insect (MFI) devices. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention provide a drive assembly for a wing of a MFI.
2. Description of the Background Art
Micro flapping structures such as are used in the MFI are required to produce large displacements at high resonant frequencies, while performing complex kinematic patterns. The MFI wings must be capable of independently going through a wing stroke of 120°, while being able to rotate 90° at a resonant frequency of 150 Hz. To do this, the body of the MFI includes actuators, two wings, each driven by separate thorax structures. The thorax structures consist of actuators, mechanically amplifying four-bar structures, and a differential. Since the work done on the air is proportional to the velocity of the wing squared, an important requirement is a high resonant frequency. Conventional MFI thorax is produced by using stainless steel beams as the structural members and polymer flexures to act as joints. This has drawbacks of having high inertias, thus lowering the resonant frequency, as well as being difficult to construct.